Boavista and Arouca open the new year with a bottom-of-the-table clash when they go head to head in round 17 of the Primeira Liga at the Estadio do Bessa on Saturday.
Both sides head into the weekend knowing that victory here could serve as a springboard for a strong run of form to start the second half of the season as they look to surge from the doldrums.
Match preview
© Imago
Boavista's first half of the season was summed up with their performance in their final outing of the year as they suffered a 4-0 thrashing against Porto at the Estadio do Dragao last Saturday.
Samu Aghehowa opened the scoring in the 31st minute, and after Nico Gonzalez and Rodrigo Mora scored quick-fire goals in the second half to put Porto in a commanding lead, Aghehowa netted his second of the game to cap off a dominant team display.
Boavista have now gone six back-to-back games without a win, losing three and picking up three draws, and have managed just one win in their 16 matches across all competitions since a 1-0 victory over Casa Pia in August's season opener.
Os Axadrezados' underwhelming first half of the season has been owing to their lack of firepower at the attacking end of the pitch, where they have scored the joint-fewest number of goals in the league (10) while shipping 23 in their 16 matches so far.
Cristiano Bacci's men are also the only side yet to taste victory on home turf this season, losing four and claiming three draws from their seven matches at the Estadio do Bessa — the division's poorest point tally at home (3).
© Imago
Like the home side, Arouca continue to struggle to struggle for results at the wrong end of the table as they could only salvage a 1-1 draw against Gil Vicente in their final outing of the year last Friday.
Following a goalless first half at the Estadio Municipal de Arouca, Gil Vicente drew first blood in the 64th minute courtesy of Mory Gbane, but Guven Yalcin struck with nine minutes left in the game to hand the home side a share of the spoils.
Prior to that, Arouca snapped their six-game winless run on December 15, when they scraped a 1-0 victory over Santa Clara, five days before crashing back to earth in a 3-1 loss against Casa Pia at the Estadio Pina Manique.
Vasco Seabra's men have picked up just three wins from their 16 Primeira Liga games while losing 10 and claiming three draws to collect 12 points and sit rock-bottom in the league table, only above this weekend's hosts on goal difference.
Arouca will be backing themselves to find their feet this weekend and begin the new year on a high as they take on an opposing side against whom they have won their last three clashes, conceding eight and scoring three since a goalless draw in March 2023.
Team News
© Imago
Boavista will have to cope without the services of defender Rodrigo Abascal, who is currently suspended after crossing the yellow card threshold with his booking against Porto last time out.
In his absence, 19-year-old Alexandre Marques will push for a starting role, teaming up with Pedro Gomes, Filipe Ferreira and Julio Augusto Dabo in the back four, with Cesar Dutra starting in goal once again.
On the injury front, Bacci will be unable to name the duo of Joao Goncalves and 20-year-old Morales Pires, who continue their lengthy spell on the sidelines through knee injuries.
Arouca, meanwhile, remain without several players down the spine of the team as Kouassi Eboue (muscle), Nino Galovic (knee) and Pedro Moreira (muscle) have been ruled out through injuries.
Oriol Busquets has been ruled out since picking up a severe injury in September while Brazilian midfielder Vitinho is yet to feature this season after picking up an injury in May.
Boavista possible starting lineup:
Cesar; Gomes, Marques, Ferreira, Dabo; Perez, Vukotic; Agra, Reisinho, Onyemaechi; Bozenik
Arouca possible starting lineup:
Mantl; Esgaio, Lamba, Fontan, Weverson; Loum, Santos; Jason, Sylla, Trezza; Morozov
We say: Boavista 1-1 Arouca
While Boavista and Arouca have struggled to get going so far, victory here could kickstart an upturn in form as they aim for a strong second half of the campaign. However, both sides are evenly matched on paper and we predict that they will cancel out each other's efforts at the Estadio do Bessa.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
